Undead and Unwed: Queen Betsy, Book 1

Waking up in a tacky coffin and wearing off-brand shoes, Betsy Taylor can't believe the horrible turn her life has taken; then she discovers she's a vampire. Soon, Betsy becomes a participant in a power struggle between the forces of darkness. With only her friend Jessica and the hunky vampire Sinclair to help her, this new "Queen of Vampires" will have a tough time getting her afterlife straight.

Wolf at the Door

Rachel, a werewolf/accountant, is asked to keep one eye on Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor and the other peeled for a rogue werewolf who's itching to start a war. But her attention is mostly on a sexy, mysterious stranger she wishes she could trust.

Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs: Half-Moon Hollow, Book 1

Maybe it was the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly boss and handed $25 in potato skins instead of a severance check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead.

Fashionably Dead

Vampyres don't exist. They absolutely do not exist. At least I didn't think they did 'til I tried to quit smoking and ended up Undead. Who in the hell did I screw over in a former life that my getting healthy equates with dead? Now I'm a Vampyre. Yes, we exist whether we want to or not. However, I have to admit, the perks aren't bad. My girls no longer jiggle, my ass is higher than a kite, and the latest Prada keeps finding its way to my wardrobe.

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride: Nocturne Falls, Book 1

After seeing her maybe-mobster boss murder a guy, Delaney James assumes a new identity and pretends to be a mail order bride. She finds her groom-to-be living in a town that celebrates Halloween every day. Weird. But not as weird as what she doesn't know. Her groom-to-be is a 400-year-old vampire.

The Accidental Werewolf: Accidentally Friends, Book 1

When Marty Andrews gets bitten by a mangy mutt while walking her teacup poodle, her blond hair darkens, the hair on her legs starts growing at an alarming rate, and her mood swings put her dream job as a sales rep for Bobbie-Sue Cosmetics in serious jeopardy. Then a drool-worthy man shows up at her door claiming that he accidentally bit Marty. And since he's a werewolf, she is now, too. Thinking Keegan Flaherty is clearly insane, Marty refuses to believe a word until a kidnapping makes her realize there's more at stake than just her highlights.

First Grave on the Right: Charley Davidson, Book 1

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light”. But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all.

Switching Hour: Magic and Mayhem Book One

Released from the magic pokey and paroled with limited power is enough to make any witch grumpy. However, if you throw in a recently resurrected cat, a lime-green Kia, and a sexy egotistical werewolf, it's enough to make a gal fly off the edge. Not to mention a mission...with no freaking directions. So here I sit in Asscrack, West Virginia, trying to figure out how to complete my mysterious mission before All Hallows Eve when I'll get turned into a mortal.

Witch Slapped: Witchless in Seattle, Book 1

Hello. My name is Stevie Cartwright, and I've been witchless for 30 days. If only there was a support group for down-on-their-luck ex-witches who've had their powers slapped right out of them (literally). Just as I was licking my wounds after returning to my hometown of Ebenezer Falls, Washington, and navigating my suddenly nonmagical existence with the help of my familiar, Belfry, things got sticky. Enter an ex-spy and newly departed spirit named Winterbottom, who's infiltrated my life with his sexy British accent and a couple of requests....

Slouch Witch: The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic, Book 1

Let's get one thing straight - Ivy Wilde is not a heroine. In fact she's probably the last witch in the world you'd call if you needed a magical helping hand, regardless of her actual abilities. If it were down to Ivy, she'd spend all day every day on her sofa, where she could watch TV, munch junk food, and talk to her feline familiar to her heart's content. However, when a bureaucratic disaster ends up with Ivy as the victim of a case of mistaken identity, she's yanked very unwillingly into Arcane Branch.

Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case: Jayne Frost, Book 1

Jayne Frost is a winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne, and now private investigator. Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at a toy store are going missing. Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that's strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger.

Publisher's Summary

Fans can’t get enough of New York Times best-selling author MaryJanice Davidson’s Queen Betsy vampire tales, which combine sly humor, romance, and the supernatural.

In her 11th adventure, following Undead and Undetermined, Betsy’s up to her fangs in paranormal trouble. Still heartbroken over her friend Marc’s sacrifice, Betsy is further plagued by nagging suspicions that her half-sister, Laura, is up to no good. It seems that Laura has received an offer to assume her mother’s duties overseeing Hell - but only if she first kills Betsy.

I do so love Betsy and Sinc-lair and Tina and the whole bunch but unfortunately this series seems to be running out of steam. Lots of relatively random "stuff" went on in this book but nothing ever seemed to actually happen. I enjoyed learning more background but otherwise the book was not all that engaging. It felt like Ms Davidson was really struggling to think up things for Betsy to do.

If I hadn't already listened to (and loved) the previous ones I'm not sure I would have even finished listening to this one. It sort of droned on and then something would happen and then it would drone on again and then something else would happen that wasn't really related to the first thing that had happened. There were several times I checked to see how much more was left.

Sinclair was mostly absent. Their relationship was what really made the series for me and without their interaction the rest of it was just time spent hoping for Sinclair and Betsy to get together but it never happened. Even Betsy was getting frustrated at their not connecting.

While I think the narrator does an excellent job, Sinclair's voice seems almost snide when he speaks to Betsy. Sort of like a husband who has a chickie on the side and is just putting up with his dingbat wife who he can just barely stand - there isn't any more chemistry between them. And the way Betsy treats him who could blame him. I'm pretty sure that's not the intent but that's how it strikes me. I don't think I will puchase any more in the series (if there are more). Ms Davidson needs a new vampire to write about (werewolves don't interest me much) because I really do enjoy her writing.

However, I felt the author was meeting her word count with Betsy's tirades rather than actually advancing the plot. This is why I gave it a 3 for story. I still listened to this non-stop which, for me, is a good thing. I like the original Laura and didn't care for the direction the books are taking with her character. I also thought Sinclair was turning into a wimp. On the plus side, I liked the way the major issue was resolved. I hope Ms Davidson continues to bring the series back up to her earlier standards.

I just love this series. It is completely off-the-wall, and hysterical as hell. The book is written pretty much how I think in my head 90% of the time. It has it all, vamps, weres, zombies, Satan, the Antichrist, and Baby Jon. In this installment, we see Betsy taking care of problems left by the prior book, and getting in to the usual trouble along the way. Thankfully, the Queen of the Vamps stumbles into the solutions to what is going on in her madcap world, or it would be total chaos. By the way, if you follow the series, you may start drinking smoothies on a regular basis.

Where does Undead and Unstable rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As a result of a series that was losing momentum, this book attempts to recapture the reader's interest by bringing together a lot twists and resolving them somewhat by the end of the book. Not to give anything away, but this book does give insight into the others and does answer quite a few of the more confusing questions. Can't speak for everyone but the series was getting a bit confusing to me.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Sinclair, although the narrator's voice for him is a bit corny. Keep in mind that Betsy has a pretty foul mouth in this book especially!

What does Nancy Wu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Don't bother buying the book! Just sit at the book store and read the last 3 chapters and you'll be good. You'll also skip all the nauseating crap I had to listen to. The only saving grace was the narrator, Nancy Wu.

While this is another great book in the Betsy-verse, you really have to pay attention to what is going on. I had to go back several times and listen to sections again to make sure I understood what was going on and who was talking to whom. It could just be my issue though!

A school administrator and avid reader and listener of books. At least an hour of every day is spent in the car, and that's where the bulk of my listening is done. I tend to listen to books on "faster" mode so I can get through more books!

Better than book 10! Narration of the audiobook is excellent. This book actually had the plot move along. Book 10 could have been much shorter and incorporated into this book. As much as I loved the series at the beginning, I'm kind of looking forward to it being over.

I did like this book but I was seriously tired of Betsy's whining by the end. I don't understand why it took so long to get to the good part. As others have said there was a lot of nonsense that really didn't advance the plot but just took up time. Hopefully the next books will be back up to par.

At the end of the last book, Betsy's roommate and friend, Marc killed himself to prevent himself from being the killer Marc thing from the future and possibly saving Betsy in the process. However, like all things in the Undead world, he didn't stay dead. Or even really die. Anyway so that plus the cat died, the devil and Laura actually weirder than normal.. Or and future Betsy is now in the past with the now Betsy. They talk to each other.. It's um well, funny-ish... Although confusing. If I didn't have the audiobooks to this series, I am not entirely sure I would have got as far with this series as I had. Although, I am glad I stuck this out. Queen Betsy is her usual self absorbed, narcissistic shoe harder. In this book, she's starting to believe that maybe this whole bad evil future can be changed - thank god, poor Sinclair- speaking of the tall, dark and dead Sinclair, he seems to be lighter version of himself as well. I think where Betsy matured, Sinclair lightened up! The rest of the characters, seem to spend a lot of the time in the kitchen drinking smoothies, and talking Betsy out of stuff... I guess that's what friends are for. A great listen, a good ending, but I do think the Betsy chapter needs to close. The author can draaaag out a series that could have had all this great content, but ended like four books ago.. Entertaining, but unnecessary.

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